


I’ll Dive Back In

by alysurr



Series: Sing a Shanty for Me [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I didn’t proof read in college and I’m not about to start now, Marijuana, Mild Profanity, Now kiss, Pre-Canon, Recreational Drug Use, seamista - Freeform, so soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25449151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alysurr/pseuds/alysurr
Summary: A routine trip to meet some stuffy suitor turns into an adventure as Princess Mermista meets a young sailor named Sea Hawk.Pre-canon Seamista adventures featuring a younger and softer version of the duo, before all of the stress and trauma.
Relationships: Mermista & Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Series: Sing a Shanty for Me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854265
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	1. Setting Sail

I'm underwater, no air in my lungs  
My eyes are open, I’m done giving up  
You are the wave I could never tame  
If I survive, I'll dive back in

  
Mermista sighed as her tailor continued to pull at the hens of her dress, pinning things into place and making adjustments. It felt like it had been hours. 

“Fuck!” She shouted and flinched as the tailor stuck a pin into her hip, again.

She turned to glare at the woman, who ducked her head apologetically and said “I’m sorry, Princess Mermista!”

Mermista rolled her eyes and held up her hand. “Ugh, whatever! When are you going to be done?!” she hissed. 

“Just a few more adjustments, I promise!” the tailor’s apprentice guaranteed from behind as she held onto the train of Mermista’s gown. “You’re going to look absolutely lovely when you go to meet Prince Carrack of Clarion!” Mermista tolerated her a lot more than the older woman at her feet. She was close to Mermista’s age, never faltered even when being yelled at, and always brought Mermista the latest gossip from around the ports because she spent a lot of time at the bars near the marina. Plus, Mermista almost never got to hang out with other girls her age.

“Whatever,” Mermista said with a shrug, suddenly finding her nails extremely interesting. She picked at her cuticles for a moment while they finished up. Once she was set free and released from the torment of being poked and prodded and dressed up like some sort of doll, she quickly changed into more comfortable clothes. Despite her parents’ protests—she was _not_ going to wear a dress or skirt on the boat ride there. 

She layered a loose sleeved, deep teal tunic embroidered with gold thread over navy blue leggings with gold lace accents at the ankles. She slipped on sandals made of gold leather and checked herself out in the full length mirror in her dressing room. 

The late summer humidity was doing a number on her messy curls, but there wasn’t much she could do to tame _that_ mess other than half-heartedly try and flatten it down with her hands and re-do her braids. She wished she hadn’t dismissed the tailors so suddenly. The apprentice had once braided her hair in such a way that managed to keep it under control and lasted the whole next day. 

_Whatever, this is so stupid,_ she thought to herself. _I don’t even want to meet this dumb prince or whoever._ She was sure this was just a ploy to get her married off so she could take over Salineas and they could fuck off into retirement. 

That was the absolute last thing Mermista wanted right now. She liked being able to sneak off and go for long swims in her mermaid form, or join the crowds out on the town. She was definitely getting noticed more often now, even with a number of disguises she had tried. Her signature dark blue curls were a curse. 

Fortunately, her parents insisted she be married to some neighboring royal heir before passing down the crown. And Mermista was _excellent_ at bad impressions. 

･ﾟﾟ･｡ .*･｡ﾟ.・゜゜・. .*･｡ﾟ

Sea Hawk was already awake in his bunk when the wake up call came. It was his eighteenth birthday, and while he knew the crew wasn’t going to be celebrating for him today, he was still getting the best present the young shiphand could imagine. 

He was going to meet a Princess!

He had been on countless trips with this crew since one of the sailors had recruited him from his hometown when he was 8. But they had _never_ been on such an important journey as this one! 

Sea Hawk threw himself out of bed and quickly got dressed in his best clothes, a dark pair of slacks and a white button up shirt with his usual knee high boots. He fastened his normal bright red bandanna around his neck and used a black one to hold the wild burgundy curls on his head out of his eyes. He rushed to the deck with the other sailors and crew members, and lined up with them in front of the captain. They were already docked at the Salineas marina, and that day they were going to be taking the royal family to Clarion for some event. 

The old sailor, Eldoris, stood next to him and clapped his hand on Sea Hawk’s shoulder. “Happy Birthday, kid. I got you something, it’ll be on your bed after we set off, ok?”

Sea Hawk gasped excitedly, whispering “seriously!?” to the older man, his eyes sparkling. “Thank you!”

“Silence!” The Captain said as he exited the cabin onto the deck. Sea Hawk quickly stood at attention with the others, then at ease when the Captain held up his hand. He tried to listen attentively as the captain went over the day’s agenda, but his mind wandered almost instantly to what the old sailor had gotten him, then to the fact that _he was going to meet a Princess that day!_

“DISMISSED!” The captain called. What had he said? Sea Hawk wasn’t sure, so he just followed the old sailor who directed him to grab some bundles of rope and start securing the mainsails. 

･ﾟﾟ･｡ .*･｡ﾟ.・゜゜・. .*･｡ﾟ

“You know,” Mermista said sweetly to the guard who stood by her side. “I don’t really need an escort.”

“King’s orders, Princess,” the guard said dryly as they walked forward. Mermista crossed her arms and groaned. 

“I’m almost sixteen. I don’t get why they can’t just let me be.” Her tone was sour now. She didn’t expect an answer, and the guard didn’t give her one as they approached the ship. Her parents had already left several days before as they had to visit some other kingdom first, so she was excited to be on this journey on her own. She should have known when her father left the commander of his guard behind that she wasn’t going to have such a luxury. 

And he didn’t even bother escorting her himself, he sent some new kid. She studied the guard as they walked. He stood tall, but she could tell by a constellation of acne and razor burn on his jaw and the way he spoke with a bit of uncertainty that he was still kind of young. She wondered how smart he was, and how easy it would be to sneak off and hide from him. Most of the guards were idiots. 

He turned to her and she looked away, twirling her braid as she stared at the ship they were approaching. They had hired a third-party crew because their normal crew was off with her parents, so this ship wasn’t quite as ornate as the usual Salineas Sirens were, but it was a beautiful ship nonetheless. The sails were a soft gray and the deep purple boat itself was made of a foreign material she couldn’t name. Was it carbon steel? She touched the side gingerly as they approached the ramp. 

“After you, Princess,” the guard motioned. Mermista rolled her eyes as she stepped onto the ramp and began ascending to the ship’s deck. She forced a small smile as she was greeted by the captain and a few of the crew members. 

“Welcome, your majesty, Princess Mermista! My crew and I are honored to escort you to Clarion today!” He bellowed with a deep bow. 

“Cool, thanks,” she responded coolly.

“My right-hand man, Eldoris, will be escorting you to your quarters for the journey! Please feel free to let me know if there is anything we can do to make you feel more comfortable, Princess!” 

“Please follow me, my lady.”

“‘Kay,” she said as the sailor next to him stepped forward and bowed. He was an older gentleman with a kind face and a silver beard. He went over the itinerary as they followed him but she wasn’t paying attention, instead studying their route and looking for places that looked interesting, or like good hiding spots. 

They passed by various crew members, mostly older men, all of whom didn’t disguise the fact that they were staring at her. She just kept looking forward. 

They rounded a corner and the sound of a loud, excited voice caught her attention. A tall, younger sailor who couldn’t have been much older than Mermista was engaged in the middle of a story he was telling to another sailor. He was leaning against a stack of boxes and used his hands when he spoke to his acquaintance. 

“Get back to work, Sea Hawk,” Eldoris said loudly, but his voice was warm. The auburn haired boy spun around on his heel, his face slightly flushed. 

“Ah, sorry,” he choked out before his jaw literally—literally—dropped as his dark eyes met Mermista’s. She raised her eyebrows at him for a moment, taking in his messy hair which was barely held back from his face by a black piece of fabric, a stupid mustache and a bright red bandanna. He was sort of handsome, she thought for a moment, then dismissed it entirely because the expression on his face was ridiculous. 

It was kind of cool that someone else her age was on the ship though. If she got bored. 


	2. The Great Escape

“Yeah, no, you’re not staying _in_ the room with me,” Mermista protested as the guard followed her through the doorway after Eldoris parted ways. 

“I’m sorry, Princess, but the King ordered—“

“Yeah, I don’t really care. You can stand outside, but this—“ the Princess motioned around the room in the guard’s direction—“isn’t happening.” 

“I really don’t have a choice—“

“I could like, literally sink the ship. Or maybe I’ll just have a wave drag you overboard.”

The guard swallowed as Mermista placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. His brow furrowed as he weighed the pros and cons of a watery death vs being chewed out by the king if he found out. He seemed to accept a decision and stepped out the door with a small bow. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, Mermista made her way to the air vent on the other side of the room. She had to stand on a chair with several pillows on it to reach it. The old screws keeping it in place were blessedly loose, and she had removed the vent’s cover in no time. She quietly placed it on the ground next to the chair. Years spent swimming in the ocean gave her admirable upper body strength, and she grabbed hold of the bottom of the opening and easily lifted herself into it. It took a little bit of maneuvering to get the lower half of her body into the tight space. 

Aaaaand she didn’t even know where it led to. Whatever, it was better than being alone in some boring cabin for the next twenty-four hours. She wriggled her way through the vent system until she found a vent that not only was loose, but also opened into an empty room. She flinched and stayed put for a moment as the vent clattered as it hit the ground, but nobody came to answer the sound. After figuring the coast was clear, Mermista pushed herself out of the vent and slid down to the floor. She dusted herself off as she took in her surroundings. She must have ended up in the crew’s living quarters, as the walls were lined with bunk beds. There were coats hanging on the walls, shoes resting haphazardly on the floor, and trinkets, instruments and books at some of the headboards. 

One of the bunks to the left practically had a mini library on the shelf above the headboard, and Mermista quickly made her way over and sat down on the bed, leaning into the pillow to take a closer look at the titles. As her weight pressed the mattress down, something in the center of the bed slid towards her and hit her thigh. It was a hardback book with a piece of paper taped to the cover. 

“Happy birthday, kid. Eldoris and the crew,” she read. “Nice.”

She gently peeled the paper back to reveal the cover. “No way!” Mermista gasped. “I didn’t know a new Mer-Mystery book was out!” She leaned against the wall the bed was against and pulled her knees to her chest as she cracked open the book and began reading. 

She was so absorbed in the story that she didn’t hear the door to the cabin open, the soft hum of a shanty, or the sound of boots approaching the bed. 

･ﾟﾟ･｡ .*･｡ﾟ.・゜゜・. .*･｡ﾟ

“D-did you _see_ her!?” Sea Hawk exclaimed to his friend as they pulled up one of the anchors. It had been about an hour since the Princess had met his gaze, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

“Nah, I was actually working,” Loren said with a smirk and a grunt as they heaved their anchor into its place on the ship. He signaled to the next team that theirs was up so they could alert the captain when they were all in place. 

“She was the most beautiful lass I’ve ever seen! Her beauty was like that of the sunsets over Bright Moon, more than all of the moons combined, more than all of the flowers in Plumeria!” Sea Hawk continued without missing a beat. He leaned against the side of the boat and looked up into the sky with a wide grin. “Her hair was the color of the ocean in a storm, her eyes were like honey!” He sighed happily. “What a wonderful birthday. She gave me the look, you know.” He wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, who just laughed. 

“Oh yeah, happy birthday, but you’re delusional, man. Come on, let’s get some lunch before they find out they didn’t give us a job until tonight.” Loren started heading in the direction of the kitchen. 

“I’ll catch up with you! I forgot that Eldoris told me he left something for me in my bunk!” Sea Hawk called after him. He waved his hand without looking back, and Sea Hawk turned in the opposite direction and headed towards the bunks with a bounce in his step. 

He spotted one of the Salineas guards as he headed towards the cabin he shared with half a dozen other crew members. _That must be where the Princess is staying,_ he thought and couldn’t stop a happy noise from escaping his throat. He knew he probably wouldn’t see her again until she left the next morning, but the thought that she was so close made his heart pound in his chest.

On second thought, maybe he would. He started to whistle a low tune as he walked casually up to the door. As he reached for the handle, the guard extended his arm and blocked his way with his staff. 

“What’s your business?” He asked sternly.  
  
“What, a man can’t enter his own bedroom?” Sea Hawk asked, resting his fist on his hip and cocking an eyebrow at the guard. 

“Your bedroom?” The guard responded stupidly, tilting his head to the side.  
  
“Yes, the room that houses my… well, bed,” Sea Hawk laughed. “And all of my other things, too. So if you don’t mind--” he reached out again, but the guard smacked his hand away.  
  
“The Princess is in there.” 

“Ohhhhh!” Sea Hawk sang. “Well isn’t _she_ a lucky lady.”

“Don’t crew members share living quarters?”  
  
“While that is true, I just so happen to be…” Sea Hawk paused for a moment to consider his next words, “a special case.”

“Special how?”

“Can’t you see the family resemblance? I’m the captain’s son!” he pushed his hair back and winked at the guard. 

“Sea Hawk,” came a voice from behind, causing him to grit his teeth as a hand clapped on his back, harder than usual. “What are you doing?” Eldoris apologized to the guard as he grabbed Sea Hawk’s shoulder and started leading him down the hall. “Please don’t bother the Princess, we want her family to use our chartering services again,” he said to Sea Hawk as they rounded the corner.

“I was just trying to have some fun.”

“You’re eighteen now, kid. It’s time for you to start taking things seriously. Don’t you eventually want to be a captain yourself?”

“Of course!” Sea Hawk responded. “But that shouldn’t mean everything has to be super serious all the time, does it?”

“Of course not, you just need to learn to pick your battles! These are business relationships that you could be having one day, too.” They stopped at Eldoris’ cabin door and he finally took his grip off of the boy’s shoulder as he opened it. “Did you get your gift?”

“Not yet! I was heading there now, actually, before my detour.”

“Well, go get it then! We’ve got a few hours til we need you on deck. And leave the Princess alone! I’ll throw you overboard if you try that again!” Eldoris called just before closing the door behind him.

“You know it was worth a shot,” Sea Hawk called back as he closed the distance to his own cabin. He hummed to himself one of his favorite old shanties as he entered the cabin and made his way to his bunk.

His boot met something unusual on the ground and he stopped, crouching down to pick up an air vent cover. “What?” He said quietly to himself as he looked up at the wall it came from, now with a gaping hole. When he went to stand back up, a flash of blue caught his eye and—the Princess. 

She was sitting on his bed.

The. Princess. Of. Salineas. Was. Sitting. On. His. Bunk.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, but she was so engrossed in the book she didn’t even look up. 

“Ah, hello,” he said nervously. Her eyes flicked towards him, then grew wide. A blush spread across her face. She didn’t move. “I’m Sea Hawk,” he added quickly. 

“Oh. Yeah. I heard the other sailor call you that earlier,” she responded, breaking eye contact and closing the book in her hand. “It’s a weird name,” she added as she looked up. 

Sea Hawk laughed and leaned against the frame of the next bunk, crossing his arms over his chest. “I get that a lot. Usually not from someone sitting on my bed after going through my stuff, though.”

“Right… sorry about that,” the Princess said, but she didn’t sound sorry at all. She still had the book in her hand, her index finger between the pages holding her place. “Oh, happy birthday.”

Sea Hawk’s eyes lit up at her words. “How did you know it’s my birthday!?” He asked excitedly. She reluctantly handed him the book. He sat down as he read the note, then grinned as he lifted it up to read the title.

“So you like Mer-Mysteries books?” Mermista asked, leaning towards him. Sea Hawk turned to look at her, and her face was only a few inches away from him. She smelled like sea salt and flowers. 

“Yeah,” he breathed, feeling heat rise to his face. 

“I’m Mermista, by the way.” She sat back and crossed her legs. 

“Y-yeah, I know.”

“So, um, do you mind if I keep reading that?” 

_You could drown me at the bottom of the sea, and I’d say thank you._ “Yeah.” He handed it back to her.

“Is that the only word you know?”

“No!”

“Uh huh.”


	3. Follow Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING // Mention, description and usage of a fantasy drug that is essentially marijuana.

A few moments had passed in silence as Mermista tried to find her place again in the book. The guy, Sea Hawk, got off the bed for a moment and went to pick up the air vent cover again.    
  
“Did you come in here through the vent?” He asked.

“Maybe,” Mermista responded casually.    
  
“So your guard doesn’t know you’re not in your room?” Sea Hawk laughed as he placed it back into the wall and secured the screws. 

“Wow, nothing gets past you, huh?”

“What’s the plan?” He got back onto the bed, laying on his side and propping himself up on his elbow, facing her. “How long do you think it will be before he notices you’re gone?”

“I don’t know,” Mermista sighed. “I was kind of just going to let him deal with that. Figured I’d at least have until dinner ‘til he tries to bother me again.”

Sea Hawk nodded, and was silent for a moment as he looked lost in thought. Mermista hadn’t met many guys her age, especially not any who didn’t come from prestige or royalty. Even then, they knew their place—greetings were deep bows and formalities, titles were swapped and Mermista always came out on top. She was held out at an arm’s length, which was just fine by her—personal space and everything. But this guy? Lounging there, a few inches from her hip, using one hand to stroke his chin and the other casually drumming the quilt on the bed, a soft hum on his lips, dark puppy dog eyes meeting hers unashamed. 

Something about him just exudes comfort. She closed the book and set it on top of the others at his headboard, and crossed her arms around her knees as she leaned her head on them, still facing him. “What?” She finally broke the silence. 

“Your nails are pretty,” he responded. She took a moment to glance at them, he took the chance to grab her hand and pull it towards him to take a closer look. For a moment she didn’t react, then suddenly jerked her arm back from him. 

“Do you mind?!” She spat. He flinched at her words, his eyes widening, but he recovered quickly. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he laughed. His casual tone was pissing her off. “I’ve just never seen painted nails before,” he added quickly. 

“That’s surprising,” Mermista said dryly. “Didn’t your mom like, paint her nails? I feel like it’s pretty common.”

Sea Hawk shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t know. She died in a raid when I was two.” He looked down for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Mermista said softly. 

“It’s ok. I was really young, I don’t remember her.” He met her gaze again, and his face was mischievous now. “On another note, looks like you’re searching for an adventure. And it just so happens that I’m the perfect man to give you one.”

“An adventure?”

“Sneaking out, hiding from your guards, breaking into our cabins,” he said excitedly, “definitely a woman after an adventure.”

Mermista snorted. “I was just after some peace and quiet and time alone.” His face dropped for a moment, but a smirk quickly found its way back. 

“I don’t believe that for a second. Come on!” He jumped up and grabbed her by her wrist, pulling her up after him. Standing so close to him, she realized just how much taller he was—her head came up to his chin. His shoulders were broad, his bare forearms were strong, kissed by the sun, and his fingers still wrapped around her wrist were calloused and rough as they brushed her skin. She didn’t yank it away this time, and allowed him to lead her away from the bunk.

He paused before the door, pressing a finger to his jaw as he considered the next steps. “Now where to begin.” It wasn’t much of a question, but a thought put out into the world. He then jabbed the air with the finger as an idea came to him, grabbed the door handle and opened it, looking around the corner before motioning for her to follow. She did, and they rounded corners cautiously, looking for guards or anyone that might blow their cover. When they came up on the hallway where her room was, Sea Hawk made a quick whistling noise to catch his attention and distract him. The guard shook his head and turned his back to them. Sea Hawk used the opportunity to shove Mermista behind him and to the other side of the hall. They were both holding onto laughter as he opened one of the doors down this hallway and they quickly made their way inside. 

“He’s such an idiot,” Mermista laughed. “Where are we?”

“Another passenger room,” Sea Hawk said. 

“Isn’t this a cargo ship?”

“Sometimes, because that’s how the Captain finds he makes the most money, but like right now we still carry passengers. For big events and stuff. And last week was the Snowflake Dance up in the Kingdom of Snows, so we had a bunch of passengers, most of them from royal families or whatever.”

A smile twitched at Mermista’s lips at the way he said ‘royal families or whatever’ like it was just another thing.    
  
“And they always get super drunk, sometimes for the whole ride, and usually that means they leave random stuff on the ship when they pack up. We were booked so quickly for just a few passengers this time, so we didn’t have time to clean out all of the rooms yet.” 

Sea Hawk crossed the room to the set of drawers opposite of them, pulling them open one by one until he pulled out a beautiful, ornate hair clip set with pearls. “Usually just boring personal stuff.”

Other than the hair clip, the first room had nothing to offer, so they moved on to the next. Each time they moved, Sea Hawk checked if the coast was clear before they exited into the hallway. Soon enough they had a small collection of cool forgotten items. A small vial of perfume, a golden hairbrush with a mirror on the opposite side, a pocket watch, some sort of handheld puzzle box and a diary, among other things. 

In the fifth room, Sea Hawk walked over to a set of drawers next to the bed and opened the top one, closed it, then pulled open the bottom one. He kneeled down and picked up what looked like a bag of dried clumps of seaweed in one hand and a dark blue glass smoking pipe. 

“Oh, wow,” he said surprised, sitting back on his heels. “Princess, look at this.”

Mermista walked over and leaned forward to get a closer look. “What is it?” she asked, studying the bag. “Oh, I’ve never seen green tobacco.”

Sea Hawk laughed so hard he almost fell backwards. “This isn’t tobacco.” He closed the drawer and stood up, opening the bag, then took one of the clumps gingerly between his fingers and held it out to her. She held out her hand and he dropped it into her palm. “It’s Sea-Weed.” 

She looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen seaweed that looks like this,” she responded, causing Sea Hawk to erupt into laughter again. 

“Not that kind of seaweed, it’s ummm…” he paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to describe it. “So, you crumble or grind it up, then put it in here,” he held up the pipe, “and you light it and smoke it, kind of like tobacco, but the feeling you get isn’t really the same.”

“What’s it feel like?” 

“Usually the high is different for everyone, but generally you’re just filled with a calm warmth and a sense of peacefulness. It can make you sleepy, or hungry, blissed out or super chatty…” Her amber eyes widened, and he added, “sometimes paranoid or anxious.”

She held the clump between her fingers, rolling it between them, and a few crumbs fell loose and hit the floor. “Have you ever smoked it?” She asked, still focused on the piece in her hands. 

“Oh yeah, when I can find it. It’s not illegal to have, but it’s a drug so you can’t cross borders with it, and when you’re on a ship it’s hard to sneak past customs, so…” he trailed off when he noticed she was staring at him with those big, beautiful eyes. 

“Can I try it?” she asked. 

“You want to?” he asked. 

“Why not? It sounds cool. I’ve never been high before, my parents don’t let me do anything cool.” She shrugged. “This might be the only chance I ever get, that is, until I’m 18 and can do whatever I want.” 

“Okay!” Sea Hawk said. “But I’ll be right back, we don’t want to use this pipe, we don’t know who used it before. One of my ship mates has one. Stay here, ok?” He handed the small bag to her and left the room. 

When he came back with the pipe and a lighter in tow, Mermista was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, her face with a bored expression on it. She handed the bag back to him and watched curiously as he used his thumb and forefinger to crumble a bit of it, still in the bag, then carefully tipped some of it and pushed it down into the bowl. 

“Hold it to your lips then inhale it deep into your lungs as you light it. Ladies first?” he asked, offering it to her, but she shook her head. 

“I want to see how you do it,” she said. 

He showed her how to do it, holding the lighter to the bowl, inhaling the smoke, holding it in for a moment, then exhaling the smoke into the room, careful to keep it away from her face. As he held it back to her, he cleared his throat. “Oh, that’s good quality stuff. Really good.” 

Mermista took the pipe, studied it for a moment, before putting it to her lips. Sea Hawk carefully lit the contents of the bowl and she inhaled. Her eyes immediately started watering, she dropped the bowl to her side and leaned forward as she started coughing hard. Sea Hawk jumped up, got a glass from the table in the room and went to the bathroom to fill it from the tap. 

“Are you okay?” he asked as she handed the glass to her. She drank, and sputtered a few more coughs out. He grabbed the pipe and took another hit, then gently patted her back as she choked out a few more.

“That was awful!” she said as she set the glass on the nightstand. “Why didn’t that happen to you?!” she asked, referring to the coughing fit. She cleared her throat again.

“Oh, it definitely happened my first time too,” he chuckled as he exhaled smoke again, picking up the glass again and returning to the bathroom to refill it. “You just went too fast, that’s all. It takes a few times to get used to it, it’s definitely rough the first time though.”

He took his own sip before handing it over, and Mermista took the glass again, took another drink, then set it back down as Sea Hawk flopped onto the bed next to her, laying on his back with his arms behind his head. He had a blissful smile on his face and his eyes were slightly glazed over. 

Mermista felt her insides vibrating slightly as warmth rose up from her chest. Her shoulders dropped as it spread through her body. She laid back too, and turned to face Sea Hawk. “Better now?” he asked. 

“Mmmmhmm,” she sighed, closing her eyes. She felt his weight shift as he moved to push a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Normally she would have slapped it away, but it felt so nice and…

Her stomach growled loudly, causing her to snap open her eyes in embarrassed shock. Sea Hawk laughed again, holding onto his stomach, which triggered Mermista’s own giggle fit. “I guess that takes us to our next stop,” Sea Hawk said as he stood up and extended his hand to her. She took it gently, and he grabbed the pipe and bag and shoved it into a pants pocket before they carefully left the room. 

Avoiding the door guard once again, and looking out for one of the other two guards they knew were somewhere on the boat, Sea Hawk led her downstairs into the ship’s kitchen. “Oh, hey, Sea Hawk,” the chef said casually as they looked over their shoulder, then dropped the ladle they were using into a pot of soup, causing a few drops to splash onto the counter.

“Princess--your majesty!” they bowed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you!” 

Mermista giggled and held up her hand, dropping Sea Hawk’s in the process. “It’s okay. Do you have any ice cream?” She asked excitedly, realizing where Sea Hawk had led her. Her eyes widened as she spotted a blender on the counter. “Can you make a milkshake?” She exclaimed, climbing onto one of the stools at the counter. 

“Of course, Princess! What flavors do you like?” Sea Hawk slid into the seat next to her, and studied her as she watched the chef intently. 

She had three tiny gold hoops in her earlobe, a small scar in the shape of an x on her neck just below it. Her hair was escaping her braid in some places, falling down her back and curling over her shoulder. “Chocolate, caramel, strawberry… I like them all!” she licked her bottom lip and Sea Hawk felt his heart fall into his stomach. She turned her gaze to him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”


	4. Bad Behavior

I know this may sound narcissistic  
I like the lips you kiss with  
but I want to wear your lipstick  
cause it means I got to kiss them

･ﾟﾟ･｡ .*･｡.・゜゜・. .*･｡ﾟ

The chef was usually cool with Sea Hawk, but he felt like he was getting the royal treatment with Mermista at his side. They sampled different flavors of cupcakes and brownies the chef was experimenting with, Mermista had a second milkshake and Sea Hawk had one as well. While Mermista was preoccupied comparing different icing and sponge cake combinations with one of the sous chefs, the chef pulled Sea Hawk into the next room under the guise of needing help getting something from a high shelf in the cold storage. 

“How the hell did you manage to not only get the Princess of Salineas away from her guards, you lucky bastard, but get her stoned out of her mind in the process?” The chef was short in stature but broad shouldered and the way he held himself made him seem much taller. That, or maybe it was the lifts he wore in his shoes. Sea Hawk didn’t know his name — he requested to only be called chef. 

Sea Hawk stifled a laugh. “I’m just that charming, I guess. I’ll have to tell you the details later, there’s just so much to say.” 

The chef just shook his head. “Lucky bastard.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“I saw the two of you making eyes at each other, she even let you feed her one of those mini cupcakes. No disrespect, your reputation isn’t exactly… unknown. You trying to get lucky with a Princess for your birthday?”

Sea Hawk’s face fell. “I’m not going to do that. She’s gorgeous, but she’s also fifteen,” he said which caused the chef’s eyes to widen. 

“No fucking way,” he said, taking a moment to glance through the doorway to the kitchen where she sat with her head propped up on her fist, absentmindedly twirling the straw around in her empty glass with her other hand and staring into space. “With that body? Those princesses really are magical.” 

“Please stop,” Sea Hawk protested, feeling a strange sense of… jealousy? possessiveness? welling up inside of him. Their conversation was cut short by someone rushing into the kitchen, slamming the door open as they entered. They returned to the kitchen as Mermista spun around in her chair to see who it was. 

“The Princess is miss—“ the Sailor, a tall and thin man with thinning brown hair named Remus began, stopping himself abruptly when he saw her. She crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on him as he dipped into a bow. 

“Is my guard with you?” she asked quietly. 

“No, your majesty,” Remus said, giving Sea Hawk a strange look as he returned to Mermista’s side. 

“Okay, cool,” she said as she slid off the barstool and headed to the kitchen’s back door. “You didn’t see me.” 

“Wha-?”

“You heard her,” Sea Hawk chuckled as he turned to follow her. She waited for him to make sure the coast was clear before they disappeared through the door.

“Guess we’re gonna have to find some place new to hide now,” Mermista mused, looking over her shoulder at Sea Hawk. She had a tiny bit of chocolate on the corner of her mouth, and he motioned at his own causing her to lick her lips again. 

“Got it,” he said as a blanket statement as they dipped into an alcove to consider their next move. “I mean… other than passenger rooms or the cabins, there aren’t that many private spaces that aren’t dirty,” he said as he considered the ship’s layout.

“I can handle dirty,” the Princess said, raising an eyebrow and causing Sea Hawk’s heart to skip a beat. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed under her chest. 

“I-I mean like the furnace room, it’s just super hot and there’s coal dust everywhere…” He trailed off as he swallowed hard. A man in the sea-green and blue uniform of the Salineas guardsmen was approaching them. 

“Princess Mermista,” the guard said with just a hint of annoyance in his voice. Mermista sighed and rolled her eyes as she faced him. 

“Guard Commander,” she responded dryly. 

“I’m here to escort you back to your quarters, where you will be remaining until tomorrow when we dock in Port Clarion. You reek of Sea Weed, too. I assure you that your father is already aware of this…” he considered Sea Hawk for a moment, wrinkling his nose. “Disobedience.” 

“Uuuuuugggghhh,” the Princess groaned. “Why do you have to be such a stick in the ass all the time?” 

“I believe you mean ‘stick in the mud,’” the guard corrected her, causing her cheeks to flush. “Or perhaps you meant to insinuate that I have a stick in my ass?”

“The first thing I’m doing after my coronation is firing you,” Mermista spat, producing a chuckle from Sea Hawk. She didn’t move or even look at him as she stared down the guard with her amber eyes narrowed. The guard was nearly a foot taller than the Princess, but the way she was staring him down made her seem eight feet tall.

“Like I’d want to work for you, you little brat. I’m only here because your father knows you can’t be trusted to follow simple directions.” The guard reached out to grab her shoulder and she smacked his hand away. Sea Hawk felt the boat shift under them in an unusual way, rocking a bit too hard for the clear weather they were experiencing. 

“Don’t touch me.” 

“Then move your ass.” Mermista reluctantly followed the guard, her shoulders slumped. She motioned for Sea Hawk to follow, so he did. 

When they got back to her cabin, the guard opened the door and waved her inside. Sea Hawk stood awkwardly in the hallway for a moment. 

“Come on,” Mermista said to him. 

“Absolutely not, Princess Mermista. You’re not having some random sailor in there with you,” the guard said, holding out his staff to block Sea Hawk. Her expression clouded over and suddenly a whip of water came down on the guard, smacking him in the face and causing him to stumble backwards. “You insolent little bitch!”

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Sea Hawk protested, grabbing the guard’ staff and shoving it towards him before stepping between the guard and the Princess. 

“Who do you think you—you know what?” A shit-eating grin spread across the guard’s face as he wiped it with the sleeve of his uniform. He leaned over to look at Mermista, whose hands were balled into fists, her knuckles turning white. “Do what you want, Princess. I’m sure King Mercier is going to love to hear how you used your powers to assault one of the guards again. How long do you think you’re going to go without recharging this time?” He walked to the other side of the hall and sat down on a crate, facing the door with his arms crossed.

Mermista slammed the door shut and crossed the room, laying back on the bed with a loud sigh. “I hate him so much. He’s such an asshole!” she said, raising her voice on the last word to ensure it was heard outside of the room. 

“What did he mean about recharging?” Sea Hawk asked, confused. Mermista groaned and sat up. 

“It means that once I use up all of my powers, I won’t be able to use them again until he gives me permission to connect with my runestone, the Pearl. It’s in our throne room so he has it under lock and key and when he gets mad at me, he doesn’t let mine recharge.” 

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Sea Hawk said. “I can’t believe that guard talks to you like that!”

“Thank you!” Mermista said, shaking her head. “He only does it when it’s just the two of us… or at least when my parents or other staff aren’t around. My dad doesn’t believe anything I say, especially if he says otherwise. Whatever. Let’s talk about something else.” She took out the hair tie holding what was left of her braid together and began to untangle it, then tied her hair into a messy bun on top of her head with just a few curls falling to frame her face. 

“How old are you today?” she asked. 

“Eighteen,” Sea Hawk responded. 

“You’re so lucky,” Mermista said, patting the bed next to her, an invitation for Sea Hawk to sit. “You get to travel all the time and see the world. What’s your dad like?”

Sea Hawk shrugged. “He’s cool, I guess. He got remarried a few years ago and has a set of twins I haven’t met yet. He was a fisherman so he was out at sea a lot, so I stayed with my aunt until I started working here.” 

“You haven’t met them? Why not?” 

“He lives in Alwyn so it’s not super easy to get there by boat and we’ve been really busy this year.”

“Wow, here I am complaining about my dad and you barely even see yours.” 

“It’s okay! We write a lot. I send them money and stuff. My dad doesn’t punish me for wanting to breathe a little.”

Mermista nodded, absentmindedly picking at her cuticles. It was a nervous habit she had been trying to kick, but ever since the monarch training and the courting began she couldn’t help herself, sometimes picking them until they bled. The black nail polish helped a little bit to hide the damage, but not enough. 

“Hey, do you have that nail polish on you?” Sea Hawk asked, pulling her back out of her head. 

“Not this color, but I think I have some, yeah.” She got up and crossed the room to where her dress for the next day was hanging next to a full-length mirror, and opened a small chest on the chair next to it. She rummaged around it for a few moments before pulling out a small bottle. She went back to the bed and handed it to Sea Hawk. It was a deep blue with a hint of gold swirled throughout.

“Can I try it out?” Sea Hawk asked.

“My nails are already painted,” Mermista said.

“No, on me.”

“Oh! Sure! But won’t your crew mates make fun of you?”

“I don’t really care about that,” Sea Hawk said. “They’ll always find something to give me shit over.” He held out the bottle to Mermista, who shook it before opening it to reveal the tiny brush. 

“Give me your hand? Oof, we need to file these too.” 

While she filed and painted his nails, Sea Hawk told her about some of his favorite places he’d visited. He elaborated a little bit in some cases, and definitely left out some of the more explicit details in others. Her face stayed hard to read for the rest of the night, like she wasn’t really listening, but she nodded and made affirmative sounds at the right times, so maybe she was just focused on the task at hand. 

A short while later, a knock came from the door.

“Come in,” Mermista said. 

The door opened and one of the sous chefs walked in with a small cart with several trays on it.

“Good evening Princess Mermista… Uh, Sea Hawk.” They stopped for a moment of confusion at the sight of the sailor, then continued. “The kitchen staff was advised you’d be taking your dinner in your cabin this evening?”

Mermista’s expression darkened again as she begrudgingly said, “Yes, thank you.”

“What time is it?” Sea Hawk asked. 

“Quarter to seven,” the sous chef answered as they unloaded the trays onto the round dining table in the corner of the room. 

“Ah,” he said sadly, turning to Mermista. “I have lookout duty tonight, so I guess it’s time to say goodbye for now.” 

“Okay,” Mermista said as she put the cap back on the polish. She tried not to sound disappointed. 

“Thanks for the manicure,” Sea Hawk said, reaching out to touch her hand once more before he got up. 

“It’s whatever,” said the Princess as he left the room and headed back to his own. He shot a glare at the guard as he walked by, but they were too invested in their own dinner to notice. 

Back in his room, Sea Hawk stashed the Sea Weed away and put the pipe back in his shipmate’s drawer. He grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall, and leaned over to grab the book Mermista had set on top of the others. Pulling on his jacket, he headed towards the upper deck. He stopped by Mermista’s room, the door closed now, and knocked. The guard didn’t react. Mermista opened the door, an irritated expression on her face that softened when she saw it was Sea Hawk. 

“Oh, hey.”

He held out the book to her, bringing out a smile from the Princess. “Think you can finish this tonight?” He asked as she took it from him. 

She nodded. “I think so.”

“I’ll be by to pick it up in the morning, then!” Sea Hawk said in a singsong, with a wink, then left to return to his work duties. 

･ﾟﾟ･｡ .*･｡.・゜゜・. .*･｡ﾟ

Mermista tore through mystery novels the same way that scholars read new texts for the first time. It only took a few hours to finish this time, and it was good. Mermista closed the book with a satisfying sound and rolled over in the bed onto her back. She arched her back to stretch, causing her pajama shirt to ride up and expose her midriff. She yawned lazily as she sat up and lifted her arms above her head, eliciting a satisfying crack from her shoulder blade. It was pretty late, but her mind was racing on the high of a good plot. 

She wondered if the guard who had replaced the commander was still standing just outside of her door. She grabbed Sea Hawk’s book and walked over to the table where her dinner was. There were a few leftovers still, a small plate of assorted cured meats and cheeses lay abandoned because Mermista didn’t care for the smoky flavor. 

She took a pen and paper from the center of the table and scribbled a note, signed it, then held it up to read it. She wrinkled her nose at the cheesy words she put down, crumpled it up and grabbed another paper for a second draft. Satisfied with what she wrote this time, she tucked it into the cover of the book and quietly made her way to the door of her room.

She slowly opened it and poked her head out into the hallway. It was empty! Lucky! Maybe the guard went off to the bathroom or something. Not Mermista’s problem. She grabbed her sandals and slipped them on before slipping out of the room and quietly making her way onto the deck. She didn’t pass a single person in the halls. When she opened the door onto the deck, the comforting smell of the ocean filled her nose. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment to savor the moment. She might have been able to see and smell and sometimes taste the ocean from the balcony in her bedroom at home, but there was something about the open sea that was just… different, okay?

Returning back to her original mission, she scanned the deck for the eagle’s nest, and found it, spotting the back of a now familiar auburn head of hair. She made her way over, tucking the book under her arm before taking hold of the ladder and climbing it. When she reached the top, it was surprisingly quiet. The soft hums she was used to him filling quiet moments with were absent, and she found out why when she put her leg over the wall. 

He was sleeping, sitting down on the bench with his arms crossed on the ledge, his cheek pressed into his arm. He snored softly. 

Mermista grinned as an idea formed, and she summoned a small amount of water from the ocean and dropped it directly on his face. He jolted up, sputtering, and she just laughed.

“I don’t feel very safe knowing the lookout is sleeping on the job,” she teased as Sea Hawk rubbed his eyes and made a sleepy groan. 

“I usually take a quick nap during the day when I have night watch duty,” he said with a yawn as he quickly ran his fingers through to fix his hair, messing it up more in the process. “But I was preoccupied today.”

Mermista grinned and held out the book to him. “Yeah, yeah. I just came to return this.”

“You didn’t have to do that!” Sea Hawk said as he took the book and set it down next to him on the bench. “I was going to come by tomorrow and grab it from you!”

“I know,” Mermista said, toying with the hem of her shirt. “I just like, feel better knowing you definitely got it back. I’d feel awful accidentally stealing your birthday present.” She was looking down at her hands, and Sea Hawk didn’t respond for a moment as he took in the Princess as she stood there in the moonlight. She wore light purple leggings, a thin teal tank top that hugged her chest and the curve of her waist, not leaving much to the imagination, and the same sandals she had worn earlier that day. Her dark blue hair was down now, cascading over her shoulders and down her back, slightly tangled like she had been laying in bed and hadn’t bothered combing it yet. “Besides, it’s like, so boring now that I’m done,” she added, fixing her amber eyes on his. 

“I get it, I get it, you just wanted an excuse to see me again,” Sea Hawk said with a grin, just a little too pleased with the way his words caused her cheeks to turn scarlet. 

“No!” She protested. “I was just bored!” 

“Whatever you say,” he teased a Before she could decide there were other places she’d rather be, he added, “So, what can you do with your magic other than assault innocent people with water?”

Mermista laughed. She perched herself up on the wall of the eagle’s nest, her legs crossed at the ankles as they dangled into the basket. “Let’s see. So I can control water, in small quantities over a short distance. I can breathe underwater forever, like a fish.” A soft breeze came over them, and she shivered. Sea Hawk shrugged out of his jacket instinctively and gave it to her. She said a quick thank you as she put it on. It was cropped on Sea Hawk, but nearly a normal length on her small frame.

“And I can turn into a mermaid.” The way she said it was so casual, Sea Hawk almost didn’t realize what she said. 

“What?!” He asked in disbelief. “I thought mermaids were a myth.”

“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Mermista scoffed. “Both of my parents can, and so can a lot of my family members on both sides, so I think it has less to do with The Pearl and more to do with my family lineage than anything, since my dad has no connection with the runestone.”

The way she said it so nonchalantly, like she had merely told Sea Hawk what day of the week it was, was so compelling to him. After that bomb, he wanted to know everything about her. 

Sea Hawk leaned against the wall next to her as he asked what Princess training entailed, and listened intently as she was describing it using words like “monotonous” and “so boring” when a brown object flashed between them and startled her, causing her to jerk backwards over the ledge with a shocked yelp. She reached out and grabbed at Sea Hawk’s shirt, clutching into the fabric in an attempt to steady herself. 

He reacted quickly, catching her by her thighs and leaning over the edge to grab her upper arms to pull her back up, yanking her into his chest. They were both panting, hearts elevated and adrenaline rushing. 

“Oh my gosh, What was that? A bat?!” Mermista asked as she tried to catch her breath. Sea Hawk was stunned, barely opening his mouth to speak before the Princess burst into a fit of laughter. “You should see the look on your face! Wow, that was terrifying!” She exclaimed between giggles, tears forming in the corners of her copper eyes. She released her grip on his shirt, but her hands still rested on his chest, and he still had his fingers gripped around her forearms, shaking slightly from the rush. 

Sea Hawk couldn’t stop himself—he leaned down to kiss her. He was no stranger to kissing, but the small noise she made and the way her full lips felt against his as she melted into the kiss after a moment sent shockwaves through his body. 

Mermista had kissed others before -- young lords who shoved their tongues down her throat hungrily and a few ladies who just pressed their lips to hers with no emotion or movement. This was different. Sea Hawk’s lips were soft and warm, and the way his fingers moved up her arm to her shoulder, and gently found their way into the hair at the nape of her neck sent a chill down her body. His mustache tickled her nose a bit, but it was kind of nice? He smelled like sea spray, smoke and an indefinable scent Mermista just dubbed ‘boy’. 

He pulled back a little too soon, his cheeks were flushed and the heat Mermista felt in her face told her that hers were too. She couldn’t stop the smile that took over as he stiffened, dropping his arms to his side and fumbled to ask, “Shit, sorry, is that ok?” 

“It’s fine,” she said quickly. What was the harm? He was handsome and kind, and she was probably never going to see him again after tomorrow. What harm would come from Mermista enjoying herself and relaxing for a night?

She stood on the tips of her toes, moving her arms to wrap them around his neck, and kissed him again. He moved his hands to rest on the small of her back, the soft silky fabric of her thin sleep shirt was cool against his calloused palms. 

She leaned into him, and he took the opportunity to sit back on the bench and pulled her by her waist into his lap, her thighs straddling his hips. “Is this okay?” He asked softly, and she nodded, her tongue gently brushing his bottom lip, asking timidly for an invitation in. He obliged, and his hands traveled down her hips as they made out. He found himself telling her how gorgeous she was when he got a moment to, her face flushing more and more with every compliment. 

Her inexperience manifested itself in a coyness, and Sea Hawk found himself leading the Princess. He took he bottom lip between his teeth and pulled back, bringing a satisfying moan out of her. One hand slid down and squeezed her perfect ass, the other found its way under her shirt, touching the bare skin of her waist. 

_She’s fifteen_ , Sea Hawk’s voice said in the back of his head. He wanted so badly to ignore it, but the sensation building in his pants wasn’t going to stay hidden much longer. He pulled back, pressing a kiss to her jaw before shifting her off of him, onto the bench next to him, her legs still in his lap. If she felt a certain way about his actions, she didn’t voice it. Sea Hawk kept his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his chest. She still had one hand on it, idly drawing swirls with her index finger. 

They sat there in silence for a few moments, catching their breath. 

“Is Sea Hawk your real name?” Mermista broke the silence, looking up at him. 

He shook his head. “No, it’s Sebastian Hawkins. But I’ve been called Sea Hawk ever since I was a kid.”

“Sebastian,” Mermista said softly. Hearing his real name coming from her mouth made Sea Hawk’s heart skip a beat. “That’s nice.”

“Thanks, though I didn’t have much of a say in it,” Sea Hawk responded with a chuckle. Mermista smiled up at him, then leaned in for another kiss before getting up from the bench. 

“I guess I should go to bed,” she said with a yawn as she stretched, the motion exposing her midriff. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” She slipped off Sea Hawk’s jacket and handed it back to him. “Thanks for keeping me warm.”

“Sweet dreams, Princess,” Sea Hawk said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. He didn’t want their time together to end just yet. Still, she was swinging her legs over the basket and getting onto the ladder.

“Goodnight, Sebastian.”


End file.
